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Dutch -Romanian collaboration in the field of return

Dutch -Romanian collaboration in the field of return

Nieuwsbericht
| 11 juli 2012

The Romanian Immigration Office, the Dutch Repatriation and Departure Service, the Belgian Federal Immigration Service and the Central Aliens Authority of the City of Bielefeld (Germany) closely cooperated in combined activities aimed at improving the cooperation of third countries in the field of return.

On 5 July 2012 the Romanian Immigration Office and Dutch Repatriation and
Departure Service co-organized a conference in the Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel
in Bucharest on European cooperation between services involved in enforcing the
return of illegal migrants to their countries of origin. The conference was
co-hosted by Mr. Gândac (Deputy Director General, Ministry of Administration and
Interior, Romanian Immigration Office) and Mr. Faber (Director of International
Affairs, Repatriation and Departure Service). In addition to FRONTEX, national
services of some 20 EU Member States, Norway and Switzerland were represented.
The meeting was also attended by the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the
Netherlands, H.E. Matthijs van Bonzel.

This conference took place at the occasion of the ending of the so-called
EURINT project that started on 1 January 2011. In this project the Romanian
Immigration Office, the Dutch Repatriation and Departure Service, the Belgian
Federal Immigration Service and the Central Aliens Authority of the City of
Bielefeld (Germany) closely cooperated in combined activities aimed at improving
the cooperation of third countries in the field of return. The activities
included various outgoing and incoming visits to third countries, as well as
organizing joint task forces and combined enforcements of returns. EURINT was
funded by the European Return Fund.

So far, this seems to have been a unique experience in which European return
services partners shared in-depth operational, strategic information and
undertook combined activities in relation to third countries. On the basis of
the lesson-learned of the EURINT project, the project partners will most likely
implement a follow-up. In future initiatives, the project partners will closely
liaise with FRONTEX and other national services.

Following a proposal presented by the EURINT project partners, all
participants clearly emphasised the need to work more closely as national
services enforcing returns of illegal migrants residing on their territories.
This could lead to the future establishment of a broader operational network
within which participating services could engage in with each other to develop a
common strategy aimed at third countries on the basis of shared interests.
Through such initiatives a common European effort to fight illegal migration
could be strengthened.